Rory McIlroy's season debut at the Frys.com Open hasn’t been what he had hoped -- but it could have been a lot worse.

McIlroy was nearly hit from a tee shot by Emiliano Grillo while on the 17th green on Saturday. McIlroy, who shot a 1-under 71 in the third round, chipped onto the green on the short par-4 17th, took a few steps and was nearly struck by Grillo’s drive. The ball landed a couple of inches to the left of McIlroy’s left foot and then took a big hop behind him.

“Missed me by a couple inches,” McIlroy said afterward. “Would have put me out of my misery out there a little bit, to be honest with you.”

McIlroy said Grillo likely hit his drive due to miscommunication on the tee since it’s a blind green. You can watch the Golf Channel clip below.